Your source for Peanuts books and the works of Charles M. Schulz.

Peanuts Histories, Biographies, and Analyses

Begun 2000. November 26, 2023 revision

The books listed here are histories of the Peanuts strip and/or biographies of Schulz (the two are generally intertwined.) Some such books have been mostly strip reprints with some commentary, and drawing the line will between what is a history book and what is a strip reprint is hard. On the Strip Reprints page, you will find the following books with significant history or commentary: Celebrating Peanuts (the 60th anniversary book), Only What's Necessary: The Art of Charles M. Schulz, Peanuts: A Golden Celebration (the 50th anniversary book), Peanuts Jubilee (the 25th anniversary book), Peanuts: The Art of Charles M. Schulz, and You Don't Look 35, Charlie Brown

  • 50 Years of Happiness: A Tribute to Charles M. Schulz by Derrick Bang * (HB) A handy reference volume put out by the Peanuts Collector Club
  • The Art and Making of Peanuts Animation: Celebrating Fifty Years of Television Specials by Charles Solomon * (HB)
  • Charles M. Schulz: 40 Years Life and Art by Giovanni Trimboli * (HB) The 40th anniversary book. Strip reprints, and articles on Schulz and Peanuts by Schulz himself, his son Monte, Lee Mendelson, Umberto Eco, and others. An expensive, slipcased volume
  • Charles M. Schulz: Conversations edited by M. Thomas Inge, collects over a dozen interviews of Schulz, plus pieces on Schulz by G. B. Trudeau and Bill Watterson *
  • Charles M. Schulz: Cartoonist and Creator of Peanuts by Michael A. Schuman, part of the People To Know series aimed at young adults * (HB)
  • Charles M. Schulz by Cheryl Carlson. Part of the First Biographies series. A short biography aimed at kids. * (HB)
  • Charles M. Schulz: The Art and Life of the Peanuts Creator in 100 Objects * (HB) by Benjamin L. Clark and the AAUGH Blogger with the Charles M. Schulz Museum
  • Charles Schulz by Cynthia Klingel and Robert B. Noyed. Part of the Wonders of Reading series. This is a ridiculously short biography aimed at kids. * (HB)
  • Charles Schulz by Barbara Marvis. Part of the Robbie Reader series. A short biography aimed at kids. * (HB)
  • Charles Schulz by Gloria D. Kiklowitz Part of the Dominie Biography Series, aimed at kids *
  • Charles Schulz by Jim Whiting. Part of the Real-Life Reader biography series. This is a short biography aimed at kids. * (HB)
  • Charles Schulz by Mae Wood. Part of the Checkerboard Biography Library: Children's Authors series. This is a very short biography aimed at kids. * (HB)
  • Charles Schulz by Kari Schuetz Part of the Children's Storytellers subset of the Zoom In On series aimed at kids * (HB)
  • Charles Schulz by Jennifer Strand. Part of the Amazing Authorss subset of the Blastoff Readers series aimed at kids * (HB)
  • Charles Schulz by Julie Murray. Part of the Abdo Kids Jumbo Children's Authors line. * (HB)
  • Charles Schulz: an Account for the Young and the Casually Curious * (HB) self-publish bio by Matt Trimble
  • Charles Schulz: Great Cartoonist (Reaching Your Goal) by Marilyn Mascola. A 1989 biography aimed at kids, part of the Reaching Your Goals series.
  • Charlie Brown and Charlie Schulz by Lee Mendelson * (HB) The 20th anniversary book
  • A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Making of a Tradition by Lee Mendelson, recounts the making of that TV special, with the script and sheet music. * (HB)
  • “A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Timeless Tale of Joy and Meaning”: Unwrapping the True Spirit of the Holiday Season with Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the Peanuts Gang” by Mary C Collins * a self-published proposal for a Peanuts book. Contains no actual information, just talks about what would be in the book if it were made. And yes, the title really does have three quotation marks in it.
  • A Charlie Brown Religion by Stephen J. Lind a history of Schulz's religious belief and the presence of religious themes in the strip * (HB)
  • Charlie Brown, Snoopy and Me * (HB) by Charles Schulz with R. Smith Kiliper This kid-oriented book has a simple autobiography, as well as Schulz discussing the characters, illustrated with strips. This is a nice piece, but I don't want people thinking it's some sort of deep bare-your-soul piece; it's more in line with what you'll see in Peanuts Jubilee or Peanuts: A Golden Celebration.
  • Charlie Brown's America: The Popular Politics of Peanuts * (HB) by Blake Scott Ball with A look at how Peanuts reflected and integrated with the issues of the day..
  • Charlie Brown's Christmas Miracle * (HB) by Michael Keane - the making of A Charlie Brown Christmas (2023)
  • The Complete Peanuts Family Album * (HB) by Andrew Farago A guide to every character ever given a name in the strip, and some that weren't.
  • The Comics of Charles Schulz * (HB) A collection of academic essays.
  • Funny Things: A Comic Strip Biography of Charles M. Schulz * (HB) by Luca Debus and Francesco Matteuzzi tells the life story of Schulz in the form of hundreds of original comic strips.
  • Good Grief: The Story of Charles M. Schulz by Rheta Grimsley Johnson * The paperback edition, issued in 1995, has a five page update that was not in the 1990 hardcover.
  • Happy Birthday, Charlie Brown by Lee Mendelson * (HB) The 30th anniversary book
  • The Great American Story of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the Peanuts Gang! by Chloe Perkins, illustrated by Scott Burroughs * a Ready-to-Read Level 3 book, part of the History of Fun Stuff series
  • It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown: The Making of a Television Classic by Lee Mendelson, recounts the making of that TV special, with the script and sheet music. *
  • Life: Peanuts * A "bookazine" published as part of the "Life's Editors Choice" series.
  • Me And Charlie Brown by Charlie Brown * This is an autobiography of the real Charlie Brown, Schulz's co-worker at Art Instruction Schools after whom the comic strip character was named.
  • Meet the Peanuts Gang * A guide to the characters, aimed at kids
  • My Life with Charlie Brown by Charles Schulz * A collection of Schulz essays from various sources, including the text portions of Peanuts Jubilee.
  • Peanuts and American Culture by Peter W.Y. Lee * essays by various authors
  • Peanuts and Philosophy: You're a Wise Man, Charlie Brown * Essays, edited by Richard Greene and Rache Robison-Greene
  • The Peanuts Book: A Visual History of the Iconic Comic Strip by Simon Beecroft *
  • The Peanuts Collection by Nat Gertler * (US Little Brown, British New Holland, and Australian Cameron House editions) A slipcovered hardback book with a history of the strip, looks at the characters, and lots of full-color pictures and flip-open and removable reproductions of classic items. Written by the creator of this guide.
  • The Peanuts Papers edited by Andrew Blauner * A collection of essays, poems, and comics about Peanuts, some new to this volume, some reprints, many by respected folks.
  • The Peanuts Trivia & Reference book by Monte Schulz and Jody Millward * Co-written by Schulz's son, with what appears to be a new Schulz illo on the cover
  • Schulz and Peanuts by David Michaelis * (HB, preview softcover, and excerpt booklet) A major biography of Schulz, controversial primarily for claims about his personality that are denied by his family, notably that he was a cold and distant father.
  • The Snoopy Treasures by Nat Gertler * (HB, US Thunder Bay Press edition and UK Titan Books edition) A history focused on Snoopy, written by the creator of this guide
  • Sparky: The Life and Art of Charles Schulz by Beverly Gherman * (HB) A biography aimed at the younger set.
  • Sparky & Spike: Charles Schulz and the Wildest, Smartest Dog Ever * (HB) A children's book about Schulz as a youth, written by Barbara Lowell and drawn by Dan Andreasen.
  • Sparky's Folks by Dan Shanahan * more of an extended essay and analysis of Peanuts than a history, but it does dive into Schulz's family background to get there.
  • They Called Him Sparky: Friends Reminiscences of Charles Schulz by David Liverett * Reminiscences and correspondences primarily from people he was involved with in the Church of God in the 1940s-1960s
  • Today's Best Nonfiction volume 7 * (HB) contains an abridged version of Good Grief: The Story of Charles M. Schulz.
  • Who Was Charles Schulz? by Joan Holub * Illustrated, kid-aimed biography, part of the WhoHQ series
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Notations used in this guide:

* = There's a copy of this book in the AAUGH.com reference library.

(HB) = The copy in the reference library is a hardcover (may not be noted on books available solely in hardcover.)

CB = Charlie Brown

Copyright 1992-2009 Nat Gertler
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